C-3PO (with Babu Frik) — Star Wars The Black Series
The Black Series C-3PO with Babu Frik — Target exclusive, November 2019. $19.99. Kit-bashed: TFA abdominal piece, Galaxy's Edge arms with movable elbows, reworked head. Temperature-reactive eyes — freeze for 1 minute, eyes turn red. Removable back panel shows wiring. Bowcaster fits in hands. 21 joints including 360° knee tools. Non-vac-metallized gold paint noted. Babu Frik can't sit on back without glue dots.
Overview
C-3PO (with Babu Frik) is a Target exclusive released November 10th 2019 at $19.99 — a kit-bashed and reworked C-3PO specifically designed for The Rise of Skywalker alongside a companion Babu Frik figure (id=23620). The figure combines three existing toolings: the abdominal piece from the Force Awakens C-3PO (id=4825), the arms from the Galaxy’s Edge Black Series C-3PO (id=20405) with movable elbows and gripping hands, and a reworked head with two features specific to this release. 21 joints including swivel biceps, swivel elbows, and 360° rotating knee tools.
The Two Head Features
Temperature-reactive eyes — place C-3PO in the freezer for one minute and the eyes change from their standard yellow-white to red. They return to normal as the figure warms up. The Rise of Skywalker plot involves C-3PO having his memory wiped to translate a Sith inscription, a moment when his eyes turn red. The temperature-change feature is a practical recreation of that. It’s described as awesome.
Removable back panel — the panel on C-3PO’s back can be easily removed to reveal more of the wiring and internal components underneath. This connects to the scene where Babu Frik works on C-3PO’s neural pathways.
Three Accessories
Chewbacca’s bowcaster with front part — fits surprisingly well into C-3PO’s hands thanks to the gripping hand tooling from the Galaxy’s Edge arms.
Bandolier with satchel — Chewbacca’s bandolier, removable.
Removable back panel — listed as an accessory since it’s a separate removable piece.
Babu Frik
Babu Frik (id=23620) is included but can’t sit on C-3PO’s back on his own to recreate the repair scene. The suggestion: use glue dots (available for around $5/200 pieces, easily removable) to temporarily attach Babu to the back.
The Paint Note
The golden paint application reflects light but doesn’t achieve the vac-metallized shiny finish the character has on screen. This is the standing C-3PO programme frustration — Hasbro has applied vac-metallized gold to the 3¾” line many times since 1995 but not consistently to the 6” line.
Secondary Market
Target, November 2019. Accessories: bowcaster (two pieces: main body + front clip), bandolier, removable back panel. Confirm Babu Frik (id=23620) is included if purchasing the complete set.
Verdict
C-3PO (with Babu Frik) is the most feature-rich C-3PO in the Black Series 6” programme — temperature-reactive red eyes, removable back panel, gripping arms, and a bowcaster that actually fits. The non-vac-metallized paint is noted. The freezer trick alone justifies the purchase.
Part of Star Wars The Black Series | Phase 3 Red Line. Related: Elite Snowtrooper Mystery Box P3-EX-TARGET-SNOWMB | Sith Trooper SDCC P3-EX-SDCC19-SITH.